Suction box for photographic enlargers



Dec. 26, 1950 L. E. PARTRIDGE SUCTION BOX FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC ENLARGERS Filed May 24, 1949 INVENT 0R. Lynn Pamr/dge fatented Dec. 26, 1956 SUCTION BOX FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC ENLARGERS Lynn E. Partridge, Portland, Oreg.

Application May 24, 1949, Serial No. 94,939

3 Claims. l

The present invention comprises a temporary mounting device or easel for holding photographs or similar flexible articles in fixed and flattened. position in enlargement devices or similar apparatus. The invention is designed to permit the rapid mounting and removal of sheets of paper or the like to be photographed or reproduced, without defacing the sheet of paper.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a device of the foregoing character which is relatively inexpensive and which is adapted to be used by amateur or professional photographers without the necessity of purchasing expensive machinery.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a valve device for applying or releasing suction to the interior of a mounting box upon which photographs or the like may be held in smooth condition.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily ascertained from inspection of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, while the features of novelty will be more distinctly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the present invention having a mask and a photograph mounted thereon, with portions of the mask and photograph broken away to ShOW details of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device with the top thereof removed;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the device;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along line l l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the device;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially along line B-9 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section taken along line 'I'-l of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical section taken along line 88 of Fig. 4.

The present invention comprises a rectangular box including an imperforate bottom l0, side walls I I, and end walls (2. The box is completed by a perforated top I3 which is retained in position by a plurality of screws I4 which are received in openings I5 in the walls I I' and I2. The walls H and I2 are preferably mitered and the corners are sealed by vertical gusset members [9. The top I3 is provided with a plurality of small perforations Il arranged in rectangular patterns so as to underlie the edges of standard photographs of all sizes. A side rail It extends along one side of the top and an end rail I9 extends along one end of the top to provide gauge means for the purpose of centering imperforate masks 2B of various sizes. Each mask is provided with a central, rectangular opening of such size as to receive a standard photograph 2 l. The perforations I? are so arranged that the edges of photographs will be placed midway between rows of perforations so that when a mask and photograph are in position the application of suction to the interior of the box will hold the photograph firmly against the top l3.

In order to apply suction to the interior of the box there is provided an outer tube 22 which projects through the opposite side walls ll, one end projecting far enough that it may be received within a flexible hose 23 leading to a vacuum pump (not shown) such as the blower device of a household vacuum cleaner. The tube 22 is sealed to the walls II so that it will not rotate and leakage around the tube is prevented.

A snugly fitting valve tube 26 is telescoped within the tube 22, one end thereof projecting beyond the box so that a handle member 25 may be attached thereto such as by means of the cotter pin 23. The handle member 2% may be of any suitable shape, but I prefer to have a rectangular body of such length with respect to its width that the long surfaces thereof may serve as a guide to advise the operator of the position of the handle. The handle may be turned from its upright position shown in full line in Fig. 5 to a position at degrees therefrom as shown in dash outline. The rotation of the handle is limited by means of a limiting pin 21 which extends through openings in the valve tube 24 into a ninety-degree slot 23 in the outer tube 22. The pin 2? may be snugly fitted into the openings through the tube 24, but it is prevented from falling out in any event by having the location thereof within one of the wall H. The pin 2"! not only serves to limit the rotation of the valve to an arc of 90 degrees but prevents longitudinal movement of the valve tube with respect to the outer tube.

A plug 39 divides the valve tube into two parts, the portion between the plug 35 and the handle 25 comprising an exhaust portion which is open to the atmosphere at its outer end, and the portion between the plug 39 and the flexible tube 23 comprising a suction portion. The suction portion is provided with a plurality of longitudinally aligned suction apertures 3| which are arranged to register with a plurality of longitudinally aligned suction apertures 32 in the outer tube 22 I when the handle is in one extreme position. At this position a plurality of aligned exhaust apertures 33 in the exhaust portion are 90 degrees removed from registry with a plurality of aligned exhaust apertures 34 in the outer tube, and suction will be created within the box if the entire surface of the box is covered. When it is desired to release the material from the top of the box the handle is rotated 90 degrees to remove the apertures 3i from registry with the apertures 32 and place the apertures 23 in registry with the apertures 35, thereby permitting air to rush in the open end of the vaive tube 26.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits or" modification in arrangement and detail. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for holding sheets of flexible material firmly against a flat surface comprising a box having imperforate sides and a bottom, and a perforated top against which the sheets of material may be drawn upon the application of suction to the interior of the box, an outer tube extending through the box from side to side and adapted to be connected to means for creating a vacuum, said tube having suction and exhaust apertures angularly and longitudinally spaced from each other, an open-ended valve tube telescoped within said outer tube and having suction and. exhaust apertures angularly and longitudinally spaced from each other, said suction apertures of both tubes being in adjacent portions thereof and said exhaust apertures of both tubes being in adjacent portions thereof longitudinally spaced from said first-mentioned adjacent portions, a plug within said valve tube between said suction and exhaust apertures, and a pin projecting from said valve tube, said outer tube having a slot into which said pin projects so as to prevent longitudinal separation of said tubes and to limit relative rotation thereof, said slot being of such length as to limit relative rotation of said tubes to the extent of angular displacement of said suction and exhaust apertures, said suction and exhaust apertures being so arranged with respect to said pin and slot that when said pin is at one end of said slot the suction apertures of said tubes are in registry and the exhaust apertures are out of registry, and when said pin is at the opposite end of said slot the exhaust apertures are in registry and the suction apertures are out of registry, and said valve tube projecting beyond said outer tube whereby rotation thereof may be accomplished manually.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1 in combination with an elongated, rectangular block fixed to said valve tube beyond the end of said outer tube.

3,. The construction set forth in claim 1 wherein the perforations in said top are arranged in a series of rectangular patterns.

LYNN E. PARTRIDGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,945,481 Dilkes Jan. 30, 1934 2,133,518 Huebner ,Oct. 18, 1938 2,317,348 Wekeman Apr. 27, 1943 

